A Shred of Sanity
by Joukou
Summary: After countless days wandering... All she had for company was the endless rain, the hard, cold walls, the metal, twisting pipes. For countless days. But then... there was also him. / One-shot, PeinSaku


**This is just... a random one-shot I wrote. I had the urge to write something that had Pein in it... And Sakura is an easy character to add to the mix of anything. If it sucks, it's okay... I don't know what compelled me to write it. But I felt like posting it. It's long. Longer than Finality, and seems even longer because of the writing style I chose. And if you are curious by the end as to how much time passed from beginning to end, I honestly don't know. Use your imagination. If I have any grammatical errors, I am sorry. As usual, I have no beta. I'll edit it if there are mistakes.  
**

** Enjoy, and I always love comments~**

* * *

**A Shred of Sanity**

Days went on. They just went on.

And on.

Where did they go?

She never noticed. They ran from her. She couldn't see time pass here.

It was too hard.

Time was… what was time compared to everything here?

Here, time didn't exist. Here, there was just the world, frozen.

Frozen in a maze of pipes.

It rained.

It rained. And it rained. And it rained.

Would it stop?

She doubted it. She wanted it to stop.

So it wasn't going to.

Would that turn take her to a staircase to go down? No; it wouldn't because she wanted to go down to get out of here.

Was that a ledge further down there, for her to jump? No; it was mess of pipes. She would only fall to her death if she jumped for that.

The rain wouldn't stop. Perhaps she could find the alcove again?

Likely not, since she wanted to.

Maybe when she went back, he would be there again. Maybe he'd be there tonight, like he had been before. Her shred of insanity depended on him to come back, after all. He would, right?

He had to.

* * *

It had been a simple assignment. Sakura wasn't even supposed to be so far into Ame. Things had been acting up on the border on and off for a month, and she was simply there to report back to the Hokage after a week's stay.

Of course, it wouldn't go how she wanted it to.

After the border town she was stationed at was attacked, she woke up to find herself drenched to the bone in a tall grassy field.

And surrounding said field was dark rainforest.

How much time had passed since the attack on the border town?

Where was she?

All of her supplies were gone other than what little things she had in medic skirt. And half of that had fallen out or was ruined from whatever had happened to her.

So she walked.

And she walked. And walked.

When she collapsed from exhaustion, she only barely remembered seeing spiraling buildings, and wondered fleetingly if it was a trick of the mind.

If that wasn't, surely the figure that she saw before her mind went black was.

* * *

And so she found herself here. The spirals had been no illusion (and she didn't even remember seeing anyone, for she had been too far gone).

She had thought they were buildings; they certainly looked like buildings. But there were no doors. What she thought was a door would have no handle, and she would see no bolts to indicate it being a door.

The spires went up and up and up. They were disfigured, run through with pipes of all sizes.

Perhaps she would see better higher up?

The rain made it harder to run up the walls of the buildings, but she managed it, more by leaping from ledge to ledge.

Sakura stared across the forest of metal and cement. She didn't remember what direction she came from.

She thought she said a smudge of dark green in that direction… but could it just be a lower building?

The rain continued pounding into the earth.

It obscured her vision, and she couldn't see through the haze it created.

There was a building she could see, though, almost clearly. It was taller than the rest, reaching into the sky in tangle of pipes, just like the other buildings. But there was something about it that drew her toward it.

She leaped and landed on a ledge on the next building over.

Leaping across the deserted city was slightly unnerving; Sakura understood jumping through the trees, but that was never more than fifty feet above the ground. Here she was well over two hundred feet up. A fall that long might not kill a shinobi, but it would certainly injure one.

But she continued to try and get to that one, tall spire.

She climbed near the top of another skyscraper and looked forward. It was closer now, and almost completely clear for her to see. It had many ledges that disappeared into shadows and in some areas… were those entrances to the building? So high up?

She moved closer, trying to keep it in view. But she went down several yards every time she leaped from one building to another, having no way to jump clearly roof to roof; she just aimed for the nearest ledge, which was usually lower than her current standpoint.

Once again she darted up to the top of another spire. Standing on a small ledge close to the top, she took another look at that one, tallest structure.

Her heart nearly stopped.

There was a cloaked figure standing on one of the horizontal landings.

She hadn't thought to hide herself here; she had sensed no chakra anywhere in the direct area, nor had seen anyone in the streets below. She hadn't heard anything but the rain and her own movements for…

How long had she been again?

She knew the figure would be able to see her clearly, especially from the way he was turned.

And suddenly, the rain stopped.

The clouds still rolled angrily above her, on the verge of continuing their torrent. But the downpour had stopped for the moment.

She sighed with relief, until she remembered she wasn't alone in this city of pipes.

When she refocused on the spot the person had been standing, he was gone.

Cursing her carelessness, Sakura bounded forward, intent on finding the figure. If anything, she couldn't stay where he had seen her; she had no idea whether he would be hostile or not, but she was in enemy territory, and he was more likely her enemy.

When she reached the top of the spire directly next to the towering structure, she found this one didn't even come to half the height of the tallest skyscraper. When she looked behind her, she saw the building she was on was fairly tall compared to the others.

Why was this one in particular so large? She intended to find out.

Looking down, she saw that the ledges stopped as it disappeared into the other spires. It became smooth, flawless concrete with pipes running down its sides in certain areas. No ledges, no doors.

Looking up, it became a mess of pipes and jutting metal, creating a very easy way up. Perhaps that was the point?

Was it a stronghold?

Shrugging to herself, she began climbing up the structure, jumping from ledge to ledge, and occasionally running up the wall.

The rain still hadn't started up.

She paused on a patch of cement among pipes, jutting out from the building and looked around her. The city sprawled beneath her, larger than she had realized. Why was it empty? Was it even a city…?

A drop hit her cheek, and she looked up as the sky opened up again.

The rain fell harder now, hissing as it fell past her, and blocking her view of the city and anything farther than twenty feet away from her.

The ledge she was on wandered around the building for a while, so she followed it, hoping to find another ledge farther up so she wouldn't have to walk on the wall. Such a thing was incredibly dangerous in the rain.

The rain didn't help her out and figure out if there was anything near her, though.

It was also the reason she almost kept walking when a darker shade of gray in the murky world ahead of her solidified into the shape of a man.

Sakura stopped dead not fifteen feet from the same figure she had seen from afar before. Now she was positive it was a man.

She took several steps back, drawing a kunai (her only weapon) out and holding it in front of her.

He didn't move; he simply watched her as she waited for his attack.

When he did move, it was only to look up into the sky. As he looked back down to her, the rain let up slightly, giving her a clearer image of him.

Unnatural orange hair.

Ringed eyes the color of molten silver.

And his cloak… red clouds.

Suddenly, she realized where she was.

And he promptly darted forward; she didn't realize what had happened until she fell, her mind going dark once again.

* * *

Something was touching her.

Feather-light touches ghosted over her face, her neck and her arms. Almost curious, gentle, the movement continued for a moment before the contact was gone.

She found herself wishing it would come back.

When she opened her eyes, it was dark. She could hear the rain, though, and the cold, damp wind from outside.

As her eyes adjusted, she noted she was on a sheltered ledge. The rain was falling outside, as seemed to be normal here. But where she lay was dry.

And rather soft…

Sakura jolted, feeling around below her.

She was lying on a cot of sorts. It looked worn, but was comfortable. But why was it out here…?

That was when she noticed that the darkness away from the outside kept going into the structure.

She'd found a way in!

Wait, no, she hadn't. She'd woken up here. She had been brought here. By him.

Suddenly what she had figured out moments before falling unconscious came rushing back to her. ___Him_. His cloak. His eyes.

Akatsuki.

Not _just _an Akatsuki member, either. Sakura had done enough research, using her advantage as Tsunade's apprentice to find out as much as possible about the organization.

Pein. The _leader_ of Akatsuki.

… This proved her second guess that she had simply stumbled into this city which was indeed a stronghold. And this structure was the headquarters of the organization they had been hunting for almost two years now since it had first taken the one-tailed beast and made itself known.

Sakura scrambled up from the cot and walked unsteadily toward the entrance to the sheltered alcove. Beyond her stretched the city, visible now; the rain was falling steadily, but the droplets were larger, and didn't turn everything into a misty blur.

Sakura stepped out into the rain and stood for a moment before walking further to the edge, and looked down the next ledge. It wasn't far below, and would be an easy fall.

She was about to drop down when she felt a presence behind her, and froze.

Slowly, she turned around to face him. She shuddered when she looked into his eyes and looked away from them; they were like the Sharingan: scary to simply look at.

He stared at her, features calmly blank. Then he stepped forward and into the rain, toward her.

She felt like she couldn't move. She could almost physically feel the pressure of his chakra pressing down around her. She shivered and wished she could step back. But the empty space behind her would surely lead to her death.

He stopped not five feet from her and continued staring.

Finally, she decided to break the silence. "What do you want?"

He tilted his head curiously then turned. Half facing her, he looked back. "If you leave this building, you have to pay the price," he said; his voice caused her to shiver again. It wasn't unpleasant, but smooth and, in all honesty, attractive. But the demand – the control – in it was unnerving.

Instead of quailing and nodding like her instinct told her to do, she stood her ground and started defiantly back at him. "How will you even know if I leave?"

A ghost of a smirk passed over his features. He began walking away. "I will know." As he spoke he was engulfed into the shadows created by the alcove, and his footsteps grew quieter as he walked away.

Sakura growled and took a step forward to keep away from the edge. She looked behind her, out into the rain, into the city and sighed. This was the leader of Akatsuki, Pein. She wasn't dealing with an amateur who couldn't sense chakra. Even if she masked her chakra, something told her he _would_ indeed know if she left the structure.

She sighed and walked back under the alcove.

Darkness yawned in front of her and she tilted her head curiously.

And kept walking.

What else was she to do? It was wander around the outside of the structure in the rain or wander around the inside out of the rain.

She couldn't see a damn thing for a long while. But then a bluish light began to appear from ahead. When she reached the source, she noted it was a simple electric light attached the wall fairly high up near the roof.

The lights were now spaced evenly along the hall, so far apart that the corridor nearly fell into darkness again before another light's glow began.

She followed the corridor as it went straight for a fairly long while. Then suddenly, she came to a wall. The corridor branched off to the left and right.

Was it worth it?

What if she got lost?

"Just turn around," she said to herself quietly. "Then you won't get lost."

But something made her want to keep going, to go left or right, not back; it was just like when she had _needed_ to get to this damned structure in the first place.

She needed to turn around. _Turn around! Don't get trapped!_

"You can't get lost here."

She nearly screamed.

Instead, she inhaled sharply and turned around, almost hitting him.

He was standing way too close.

She noted he was only about six inches taller than her. She was staring at his collarbone if she looked straight. Nervously, she looked up. He was looked down at her, with the same blank stare she had seen before.

She hastily backed up after realizing how long she had just been staring, hitting the wall opposite the corridor she had come from.

"What?" she managed to stutter.

He shrugged gracefully (was such a thing possible? He made it appear so). "Wherever you go, you'll end up outside again, on the same level. The only way to get to another level of this building is to go outside."

She frowned. "Is there a reason for that?"

He smiled very faintly. "You need to see the rain occasionally."

He turned and walked away, down one of the corridors she had been trying not to go down.

"Damn it!" she exclaimed, slamming her fist into one of the stone walls. It cracked slightly under the pressure of her fist and she sighed. "Just tell why I'm here already!"

She didn't expect an answer; she didn't get one.

* * *

Sakura didn't have a watch.

It had been lost back in the rainforest. She knew that night had fallen when she went inside the building.

When she came out, it was growing light again, though the rain continued to fall. Here, in this alcove, there was nothing like the odd cot. There was, however, an elevated square of cement about waist high.

There was a bowl of rice and a bowl of grapes sitting on the block.

She realized then that she hadn't eaten for over twenty-four hours, since she had woken up the first time in that grassy clearing.

After being sure that there was no poison in the food, she began eating, making sure to be careful not to eat too fast, unless she would get sick.

After seeing the food, and being ordered not to leave the structure, it was obvious she was some sort of a prisoner here. She just didn't understand why he even let her wander around. It simply wasn't what she expected.

Maybe she shouldn't expect things anymore.

* * *

She felt it again.

Light, ghost-like. She wasn't even sure it was real.

But it was so pleasant.

Fingers ghosted from her brow down her cheek, dodging around her lips and down her jaw-line. She felt her eyelids flutter and she shivered as they ghosted down her neck.

When she shivered, however, the movement paused, and then disappeared all together.

She nearly whined at the sudden lack of contact. Instead, she opened her eyes, looking blearily around.

Outside of the alcove, she just managed to spot him before he disappeared over the ledge.

* * *

"Why am I here?"

She didn't bother to look at him this time. He was standing almost directly behind her; she could feel his presence. She always could when he was near.

He didn't respond for a very long time. She continued standing in the rain, looking out over the forest of pipes stretching away below her. Her hair was falling loose, clinging to her face and neck from the water, making her hair shine and look unnatural.

She sighed when she decided he wasn't going to respond.

And so she jumped slightly when he did.

"Why…?" he said softly.

She nodded shortly. She heard the most subtle of sighs from behind. From this and his speaking, she judged he was no more than three feet away. She could easily reach back and touch him…

"I cannot answer that question."

She whirled on him, jade eyes flashing angrily. "You can't answer the question? Can't or won't?" she snapped, glaring up at him.

He gave no indication of surprise at her abrupt turn, nor any anger for her actions toward him.

"I can't," he repeated.

"Why?" she hissed, leaning closer.

He frowned minutely and glanced away. She took the time he wasn't looking at her to take in the features of his face.

She had looked at him before, of course. But she always too unnerved by his eyes to look closely or anywhere else for that matter.

While he was looking over her head at the city, she studied him.

She had really never seen anyone like him.

He was extremely attractive, and she had no idea why, but the multitude of piercings just made him more alluring. His eyes seemed as though they could see directly down to the soul. His hair, such an unusual orange, was quite messy and spiky, even in the rain.

Had he not been the leader of Akatsuki…

She shook herself out of her thoughts and was about to look away when his eyes locked onto hers. She blinked in surprise then looked down nervously.

He watched her for several long minutes and she was beginning to feel very uncomfortable. He was all but touching her by how close he was standing to her, and it was just… weird.

She didn't want to describe or acknowledge the feeling below her discomfort.

Finally, he stepped away and half turned, taking one last, long look at her through silver rings. Then he walked away and into the structure.

As he walked, she heard him say, clearly intended for her hear: "I cannot answer because I do not have an answer."

Then he was gone.

* * *

As she ate her rice, she watched the rain fall. She didn't come to this alcove except to eat, so the view was… slightly different. It was on the north side of the structure rather than the east side that her "bedroom cove" was located. She realized the tall building was closer to the forest on this side than the other ones.

She looked out at the dark green smudge blurred by the rain.

When she escaped, it would be through there. It was easiest.

Once she got to the rainforest, she was basically free.

Right?

Once she was finished with her meal, she left the bowl on the concrete slap and walked out into the rain. She was quite used to it by now. It had stopped maybe four times since she had arrived here. While she was awake, at least. And it was never for more than ten minutes.

Sakura wondered if he would notice if she went higher up the building. She could easily get higher up; there were plenty of ledges in that direction.

She wanted to know why she always saw his shadow up on the jutting slabs of concrete, so far up.

So she jumped, and landed between two large pipes on the edge of the little slab. Two more bounds and she'd be on the next level, if she was correct in her assumptions.

She had been correct, and she came to the landing and looked around. It looked much the same as her level, thirty feet below her. Pipes wound around her feet and up the sides of the structure.

She was ready to jump to the next level when he stopped her.

He was standing next to a huge mass of pipes that had shadowed him. She felt him now as he unmasked his chakra and she shuddered, frowning nervously at him.

He pushed away from the wall and walked steadily towards her until he was no more than five feet away. Then he pointed behind her.

"You do not go higher than the level below you."

Sakura huffed and crossed her arms.

"How come? If you let me roam around without being tied up or something, shouldn't that mean I can go wherever I want?" she said, cocking her head.

He sighed lightly. "It does not. Go back down there or I will make you."

"What's farther up?"

"Nothing that concerns you."

"I'm not a child! Why won't you tell me?"

"Why should I have to?"

She didn't have an answer for that. Why was she even arguing?

Was she that starved for interaction? She was going to the man holding her captive now just to talk to someone?

She sighed. Indeed, she was.

Dejectedly, she turned around and dropped back down to her level.

She felt him follow her and stop on the ledge over the alcove as she collapsed onto her futon.

* * *

And they kept going.

And going.

She stopped keeping track after day eleven. She didn't even know if that had been correct.

Every time she woke up, it was to the feeling of being touched, so lightly, head to collarbone, ankles to knees.

Whenever she stirred, the feeling went away.

Soon after the contact disappeared, so would his presence.

Sakura knew by now who was doing it and what was happening.

After the ninth time, she had stopped questioning what it was and let it be.

It didn't help her mind.

The rain whispered.

It shouted.

It laughed.

And at least once a day, she saw him.

He whispered.

She shouted.

She suspected, on the inside, he laughed.

And he watched her. Even when she couldn't see him.

Something told her he was here.

He was always here, watching her.

It was driving her over the edge. She was about to leap into that abyss.

She was holding onto a shred of sanity, and she had no idea what it even was.

Was it him? Was it the only living being she had seen in almost two weeks now?

It didn't seem like a long time. But it was.

Was it longer?

She realized now.

He was why she was here. He was to blame.

But while she was stuck here, he was her savior.

She needed him right now.

He was her shred of sanity.

* * *

Sometimes the rain was so dense hours could pass and the lighting wouldn't change one bit.

She wondered if tans could reverse in a short period of time.

After all, she hadn't seen the sun since the attack on the border town.

Now, she couldn't even see the edge from her alcove.

She sat cross-legged, sucking on a plastic chopstick. She had taken it from her last meal. She doubted he would care if a chopstick disappeared.

It may have been a weapon of sorts.

She honestly didn't think she could do anything to him with a full set of kunai, shuriken and senbon, so what would one plastic chopstick do?

Nothing.

She continued sucking on it, looking at the blue-gray blur in front of her.

She didn't turn when he walked out of the hall.

She felt his hand brush over her shoulder as he moved by to stand just out of the rain, facing away from her.

He wasn't wearing the cloak today, she noted, just a mesh shirt and black pants. Even his headband was gone, allowing some of his orange locks to fall into his silver eyes.

She leaned against the wall that the futon was situated against and hummed curiously.

"Have you got an answer for me yet?" she asked.

He looked sharply back at her for a moment. Then he looked away and didn't answer.

She scowled. "You need to answer me eventually."

Again, he did not reply.

They sat in silence for several moments and she clicked the chopstick against her teeth.

"How long have I been here?" she asked suddenly, looking up at him.

He turned towards her this time, tilting his head slightly. "You've not been keeping track?"

She scowled. "I don't know how long I was unconscious the first time anyway, and… no. I haven't."

He shrugged. "That is your own problem."

She growled. "Why won't you tell me? It's a simple question."

"It's best to keep you in the dark."

She fumed silently as he sat down where he had been standing, comfortably crossing his legs.

He was staying here?

He hadn't voluntarily stayed in her presence for more than five minutes unless she was talking to him.

Now he looked as if he didn't intend to move.

She lay down on the futon, still fumbling with the chopstick and closed her eyes. Part of her told her not to look away from him; he could hurt her.

Honestly?

He would have done so already if he intended to torture her.

_At least physically... what of other means?  
_

She didn't dwell on that thought, and instead fell into a light doze.

* * *

_Was she dreaming?_

Was it reality?

She couldn't tell, but only knew that she felt the utmost comfort wherever she was.

That contact.

The contact she so desperately craved.

_No, you don't._

But she did. She so craved it.

She shouldn't.

But she needed it.

Every time she fell to sleep.

She felt it. Every time. And she even…

Waited for it.

The feeling ghosted over her features.

It was the same every time.

But it was all she needed.

She didn't know if she was asleep.

She didn't know if she was imagining the touch.

The contact.

Running down her jaw. Brushing her lips.

Somehow, she didn't move. Maybe because it was a dream.

_But it's not._

She still shivered. So pleasant.

She began dreaming then.

She sat up. She was sitting on the ledge above her alcove. The rain wasn't pouring down on her.

She jumped down and glanced at the alcove. It was empty, and the corridor disappeared into darkness, like it always did. She walked to the ledge and stood looking out at the city.

She gasped.

On the edge, far away, the pipes were glinting with reflected light. How? The clouds never let light through.

There was sunlight, far away across the city. And slowly, ever so slowly, the light was moving towards her.

The clouds were parting, revealing brilliant blue sky that she hadn't seen for… weeks?

She turned suddenly, sensing him again. He was standing near her, looking at the sunlight as well. His blank expression was in place.

The clouds parted again in another place, almost above the tall structure, and she looked up as the sunlight fell upon her and lit up her surroundings.

She felt warmed, revived, like she had a chance.

She looked down and saw him looking up at the sky too, and her breath left her.

He was bathed in the light as she was, and it looked… unreal. His hair was blazing, and his skin, looked luminescent.

Beautiful.

He looked down and his gaze locked with hers. She felt drawn to him, the way the building drew her to it, the way this place had drawn her.

And slowly, she moved forward.

As she was standing directly in front of him, he reached up and ran a single finger along her cheek. She shuddered, no longer from discomfort.

Suddenly, the world went black around her.

She gasped and her eyes snapped opened.

Apparently she woke quicker than she had before, because he was standing before her this time, and not disappearing into the corridor or stepping over the ledge.

He gave her a long look then walked swiftly away into the darkness of the structure.

She sighed and turned her head to look outside.

It was raining, and there was no break in the clouds.

* * *

"Why do you watch me sleep?" She looked curiously at him from where she sat on the ledge. He sat cross-legged next to her.

He looked fleetingly at her. He did not answer.

She sighed. "You can't avoid my questions forever."

She needed him to talk.

She needed solid ground.

Why was she here?

Why did he keep her without telling her why?

Why didn't he keep her like a normal prisoner?

Was this how he tortured everyone?

Silence passed between them for a long while. The rain continued beating down and she sighed heavily.

She didn't intend a very low whimper to escape with the sigh.

He looked at her then, barely turning his head, but glancing sideways at her.

She looked away, embarrassed.

When she chanced a glance at him, he was looking back out over the empty spires.

Still he wouldn't talk?

At least an hour passed, and she almost whimpered again.

When she was alone, she could almost stand the long hours.

She spoke allowed to herself, and that might be what helped her get through the lonely days.

But he was here, sitting with her, and still did not speak?

She could barely stand it.

She was going insane.

Slowly, bit by bit, he was driving her closer to that damned edge.

"Stop it," she said suddenly, scowling.

He looked at her sharply, turning his full gaze on her, questioningly.

She looked back up at him. "I need…" She faltered, looked away for a moment. "I… can't do this. Not in such a way. I need something."

He tilted his head curiously. "And what do you need?"

She nearly melted when she finally heard his voice. It was her support.

_He_ was her support.

"I need something to hold me here… hold my mind." She tried to explain without really expressing what it was specifically.

"I'll go insane without steady ground. I'm _going_ insane even now."

He watched her for a moment, then stood up and turned.

She panicked. He couldn't leave yet!

Scrambling after him, she grabbed his arm. He froze and she reeled back as if burned.

He faced her slowly, and she looked at the ground. He was sheltered by the alcove now; she was still in the rain.

"What is your steady ground, Sakura?"

She gasped and looked up at him. When did he learn her name?

She shook her head. That was not important.

She shivered, crossing her arms over her stomach protectively.

He was silent, waiting for her to continue.

After several long moments, she finally whispered it.

"You."

He gave no reaction. He watched her hug herself, still staring at the ground.

Then he turned and disappeared into the structure.

* * *

And so time passed.

She walked aimlessly through the halls, always coming out onto some random ledge.

She walked in circles.

Sometimes she stayed in the rain and walked around the structure; the ledges seemed to go up in levels from this point on.

Other times she would wander into the corridors, then walk back to her alcove from whatever hall she came out of.

Either way, this became a habit for her.

She began training herself to keep her strength up.

She ran through the halls.

She ran on the ceiling, on the walls.

She punched the walls, never with enough chakra to make more than crack the cement.

It wasn't perfect training, but it kept her energy up.

It helped her go.

It helped her live.

She didn't know how long it had been since she came here.

She didn't even know how long it had been since she'd last seen him.

She had counted how many times she fell asleep for a while.

She had gotten to ten before she stopped trying.

She knew she had slept many times after that, though.

She was ready to give up.

One more night?

Then she was done.

It seemed like a good choice.

Was there anything else to do?

She already spoke to the rain.

Shouted as she walked through the halls.

No one tended to answer but her own mind.

If it was even hers anymore.

She might have lost it by now.

One more night.

* * *

That night she changed her mind.

_Thank you_.

She felt it again.

After so long, it was back.

_The contact._

It traced over her, causing her to shiver.

If she made any physical movement, he didn't mind this time.

The touch continued.

It seemed almost more confident… Not like a ghost's.

Like a real person's fingers.

She realized after a few moments that she wasn't sleeping, nor was she even half asleep.

She opened her eyes halfway.

He drew back, but did not move. He was cross-legged next to the futon, head tilted to the side just slightly.

She tilted her head as well, blinking up at him.

"Why am I here?" she asked, repeating the question that she always heard in her mind.

He watched her for a long time.

She realized it was night out, and that the only light was a little electric light in the roof above the futon.

Unlike the blue of the other lights in the structure, this one was orange.

It illuminated him in the most interesting of ways.

_Almost like your dream_.

She inhaled sharply. She hadn't thought about the dream for a long time.

She had almost forgotten it.

Finally, he replied.

"I do not need a reason."

In one single fluid moment he stood and walked away into the rain.

Sakura didn't even have the words to reply.

* * *

When she woke up again, hours later, he was walking away into the structure.

She sat up and looked outside.

It wasn't raining for once.

She crawled off the futon and walked out into the open air, looking across the city.

She could see clearer than she ever had before.

She had wondered before why it always rained.

With time to think, she came to the conclusion that it rained for a reason.

She still didn't know what that reason was, though.

She began walking around the level, enjoying the clear air.

And time passed again.

He didn't hide himself when she woke anymore.

She didn't ask why anymore.

He went so far at one point to not draw back when she opened her eyes.

She didn't mind.

So he would continue.

She had another dream later.

It was similar to the last one, but slightly different.

He was close behind her, and the sunlight was warming her skin pleasantly.

She watched out of the corners of her eyes as his arms rose, and wrapped around her shoulders, crossing over her collar bone.

She didn't protest. She welcomed the contact and leaned back.

They stayed like that for so long.

Then he leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"Do you still want to know why?"

The sun disappeared.

It began raining again.

She woke up.

She wondered how she got into the position she was in.

He was leaning against the wall next to the futon.

And she was half on the mat, half leaning against him.

Yet he didn't move even as she opened her eyes. His hand wandered lazily up and down her arm and she shuddered.

She moved swiftly so she was facing him, cross legged.

Her head tilted curiously.

"If I am the enemy, why do you allow me to touch you?"

He looked away and did not respond.

Annoyed, she huffed and waited for a few moments before speaking again.

"Do you lack the proper contact everyone craves?"

His eyes flickered sharply over to her and he frowned minutely. She recognized this as a yes.

Her mind was beyond gone, to an outsider.

Maybe she wasn't insane, per say.

Maybe here, there were just no lines to cross.

No lines to blur.

They were just two people.

Yes, he had brought her here. But in the end, they were two people.

Alone out here, in the rain.

There were no lines when it was just two people.

Perhaps that was why she moved again, and laid her head on his shoulder.

Perhaps that was why he didn't move.

And maybe why they both seemed content.

* * *

She was lost.

It hadn't happened before.

Perhaps that was because she had never ventured into the level below hers.

And now, the corridors in the structure were different.

She had taken so many turns, over and over, and still hadn't gotten outside.

But she needed to.

But it wasn't likely.

Things didn't go her way anymore.

If she wanted to get outside today, she likely wasn't going to get outside.

She might be trapped here.

But she needed to get back to her alcove.

She needed that shred of sanity that was him.

So he had to be there tonight.

Like every night.

To keep her from falling over the edge.

* * *

She never found her way back.

She had collapsed against the hard wall, tired, and thinking she could continue trying tomorrow.

Instead, she woke up on her futon.

He was sitting just out of the rain, facing the city.

She looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

He looked around at her momentarily before continuing to stare out at the rain.

She glanced over at him. "Is there ever anyone else in this place?" she asked.

"Not so much anymore," he said.

She nodded and sat up so she was sitting cross legged on the futon.

"What happened?"

He cast a sideways glance back at her.

"You've noticed since so many members of Akatsuki died, that the rest of us seemed to disappear too, no?"

She nodded.

He nodded as well. "There's virtually nothing left of Akatsuki, other than what another man is now leading."

She stared at him in shock. "So… Akatsuki disbanded?"

He shrugged and stood up. "You could say it like that," he said as he walked into the rain.

She paced around her alcove for the rest of the day, thinking.

It had been two years since Uchiha Itachi had been announced dead.

Akatsuki had all but disappeared after his death.

She sighed.

It made sense.

It didn't make sense that he bothered to tell her.

She didn't dwell on it.

She couldn't often stay to one thought anymore.

It grew almost boring… she felt as if she was over thinking it, anyway.

So she began to wander, and made sure to stay on her level.

* * *

It was an odd feeling when he changed his actions.

The first time she felt his lips brush her jaw.

But it was contact denied for so long…

And those lines didn't exist, remember.

Not when it was just the two of them.

When she stirred he sat up, but did not move.

She moved into a kneeling position, facing him.

She had moved to the very edge of the futon while sleeping. He was now sitting on the space she had left.

Certainly more comfortable than the concrete floor.

Boldly, she moved forward so she was leaning on her hands, just inches away from him.

He tilted his head curiously.

They sat in silence for several moments.

She was beginning to feel slightly odd. She began to pull back when he moved again.

There was no hesitation. No testing, first brush of the lips.

He kissed her, confidently, fully.

She was still in shock for only a moment.

_This isn't right!_

_Who cares?_

And she responded.

His hand brushed her cheek and settled at the base of her neck as he deepened the kiss.

Her own hand snaked around him and grasped at his hair.

He broke away and they sat, breathing heavily, just staring at each other.

His eyes looked questioningly into hers. _Why?_

She shook her head minutely.

"There are no lines here," she whispered. "We're two people and nothing more."

He seemed satisfied with this and pulled her in again, capturing her lips.

She fell back onto the futon and he followed.

Her shred of sanity remained intact that night.

* * *

She was content for some few days, mentally and physically.

But things changed drastically the third night.

She felt when she fell asleep, that it wasn't natural, that it was a deeper sleep than usual.

She realized she had been right when she woke up.

She was in the rainforest.

Tall grass, stretched away in a meadow, much like the clearing she had woken up in so long ago.

Looking around dazedly, she stood up.

Next to her was a small pouch. When she picked it up, she realized that there were weapons within it.

There was also a small piece of paper. She read through it quickly.

_The sunlight I'm sparing you will lead you home._

_Go east and you will reach your border town._

She let out a huff of surprise, crumpling the paper in her hand.

When she looked up, she recognized blue sky that she hadn't seen in weeks.

Strange feelings washed over her.

Relief, to be free.

But also… reluctance.

She looked west, where she was sure the city lie and shook her head.

She was out of that place.

They were no longer just two people, and there lines to cross.

With a smile, she turned east and dashed into the trees.

_Fin~_


End file.
